Warning given to Brits who watch sports using Amazon Fire sticks illegally

If you're getting your sports fix on a jailbroken Amazon Fire stick, you might want to urgently reconsider your streaming habits.

Although it might be all fun and games while your sat on the sofa surfing through all the premium content you could desire, it could land you in big trouble with the law.

And is it really worth it just to see your beloved team get beat again in realtime? I think not.

Officials have launched a huge crackdown on the dodgy Amazon Fire stick frenzy and have warned that chancers who continue to use theirs could face prosecution if they carry on.

Which is obviously quite worrying news for the millions of people who illegally stream premium content like Sky Sports, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.

A 2022 survey found that 19 percent of the participants had illegally streamed or downloaded content in the past three months and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT UK) are not happy about it.

In fact, the organisation which 'represents the interests of its members' intellectual property' is that furious that it is shelling out cease and desist letters and is even turning up on the doorsteps of people who they suspect are tuning into sports and other shows illegally.

Although it is not against the law to own a modified, jailbroken or hacked Amazon Fire stick, using it to watch the likes of Sky Sports could land you in hot water because it breaks copyright law.

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FACT says that there has been a 'significant' increase in the number of people snitching on those who they know illegally stream content via Fire sticks and other devices over the last 12 months.

One professor also raised another issue and pointed out that using streaming devices for illegal viewing could open you up to personal risk with your data at risk of being sold on.

A spokesperson for FACT UK said: "FACT constantly monitors the digital landscape to combat illegal streaming activities in the UK and Ireland. We utilise a range of methods to identify individuals engaged in unauthorised businesses that offer access to illegal streams.

"One of these methods is through our partnership with Crimestoppers to make it as easy as possible to report illegal streaming, and over the past year, we have seen a significant increase in the number of reports directly linked to Fire Sticks and illegal streaming.

"These reports are then investigated by our Intelligence Unit, and followed up with a rolling programme of action which includes issuing 'Cease and Desist' letters and conducting nationwide 'Knock and Talks'."

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It continued: "These home visits, undertaken in conjunction with law enforcement, serve to inform individuals about their activities and the immediate need to cease and desist or face further action or prosecution.

"We also work in close collaboration with law enforcement to gather further evidence to actively pursue legal actions against these criminal entities."

Amazon Fire Sticks are priced between £35 and £70, with a number of models available.

The cost of streaming platforms varies, with Netflix starting at £4.99 a month and Sky Sports costing £34.99 a month.

Dr John Dempsey, of the University of Central Lancashire, who specialises in cybercrime investigation, told MailOnline that users cannot be sure of their online safety when using one of the modified devices.

He said: "Your personal data may be sold - this includes contact details such as email addresses, IP address, home address, credit card numbers.

"A Fire Stick contains an 'operating system' which can be infected by malicious software, which could then infect any device it is connected to - this may give a criminal access to other devices that are connected to your home network.

"The person selling the Fire Stick may even have included vulnerabilities or backdoors that allow them to access your network and collect network data."